STAKEHOLDERS ' INVOLVEMENT IN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: THE MINING SECTOR IN TANZANI

Abstract

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects that do not involve communities  where they are based stand a greater chance of either failing from reaching their  objectives or being rejected by their intended beneficiaries. Community  involvement is not just about being nice; it is a central pillar in the business of
CSR. Some external secondary stakeholders in Tanzania are rejecting or ignoring  local CSR projects affecting them, which raises a question of whether they have  been consulted at all in the relevant decision making. Using the experience of  communities in the area of the Geita Gold Mine (GGM) in Tanzania and  stakeholder theory, this qualitative study analyses the relationship between CSR  and involvement of non-consumer stakeholders in decision making processes and  their outcomes. The study used a combination of questionnaires, interviews with  key informants, and focus groups to obtain information, opinions and perceptions  of company administrators, business people, government actors and local  community members so as to fill analytical gap between claims on CSR success  stories made by companies and the experience of people on the ground. The study  found out that key leaders in the local communities who were neglected in the  CSR decision making process were led to view the projects as redundant or  irrelevant. The study recommends that for an autonomous, robust and sustainable  CSR project, a company needs to be inclusive, by integrating local key  representatives at every stage of the CSR project ' s life. In addition, the study  recommends that for CSR projects to be genuinely appreciated, and to meet the  goals it sets with communities as the beneficiaries of transformation, the CSR  projects need to be monitored carefully and audited regularly.

Key words: Corporate social responsibility, stakeholder theory, mining,  management, business ethics.